CALIFORNIA (KERO) — Many farmers across California are in the middle of tomato harvesting right now. However, instead of the usual drought concerns, recent rains are causing a different issue: too much water.
Paul Sanguenetti's family has been farming outside Stockton for more than 150 years. He's in the middle of his tomato harvest but he says due to threatening storms, it's a race against time before his crops start to turn.
"Well, it creates mold. Mold is what the cannery doesn't want. You get too much mold, you get the moldy can, and then the can blows up," said Sanguenetti. "They start sending the trucks back loaded. They come back. You have to dump them and that's it. Normally you don't harvest any more tomatoes because the whole field gets mold."
This could impact millions of tons of tomatoes and could lead to higher prices for consumers in an attempt to recover from shortages. As for farmers... Sanguenetti says crop insurance won't be much help for making a profit because all it does is create a return from the losses.
